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List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States

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This list of the first women lawyers and judges in each state of the United States includes the years in which the women were admitted to practice law. Also included are women of other distinctions, such as the first in their states to graduate from law school.

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By country

Firsts nationwide

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Margaret Brent: first woman to act as an attorney in the United States (1648)
Arabella Mansfield: first woman admitted to practice law in the United States (1869)
Charlotte E. Ray: First African American female lawyer in the United States and Washington, D.C. (1872)
Lyda Conley: First Native American female lawyer in the United States (1902)

Law school

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Lawyers

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Lawyers and the U.S. Supreme Court

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Law clerks

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See also Lists of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States

State judges

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See Women in the United States judiciary

Federal judges

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See Women in the United States judiciary

Attorneys General of the U.S.

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See United States Attorney General

Deputy Attorney General of the U.S.

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Associate Attorney General of the U.S.

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Solicitor General of the U.S.

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Deputy Solicitor General of the U.S.

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Assistant Attorney General of the U.S.

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State Attorneys General

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State Solicitor General

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United States Attorney

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Assistant United States Attorney

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Special Assistant U.S. Attorney

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State Assistant Attorney General

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State District Attorneys

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State Deputy District Attorney

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Federal Bar Associations

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See also List of presidents of the American Bar Association

State Bar Association

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  • First (African American) female to lead coed state bar: Gertrude Rush (1918) in 1921[104][105][111]
  • First female president of voluntary state bar: Carole Bellows in 1977[112][113]
  • First female president of mandatory/integrated state bar: Donna Willard-Jones from 1979-1980[114][115]
  • First openly lesbian to serve as president of a statewide bar association: Joan Ellenbogen in 1980[116]
  • First Latino American female president: Mary Torres in 2002[117]
  • First Korean American female president: Esther H. Lim in 2018[118]

Firsts in individual states

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Firsts in Washington, D.C.

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Firsts in the U.S. territories

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See also

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Other topics of interest

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References

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  113. ^ Bellows was the President of the Illinois State Bar Association which is considered a voluntary bar association.
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  115. ^ Willard-Jones was the President of the Alaska Bar Association, which is considered a unified state bar (mandatory/integrated).
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